Young and Hungry
by youngandhungry
Summary: An AU where our favorite young American hero isn't happily married with a child. Two like minded souls feel a spark that makes both of these bull-headed, control-freak artists get shaken off course temporarily. But what happens when their professional careers collide? Will their connection withstand their passionate devotion to their work?
1. Chapter 1

I hugged my arms over my chest and stared up at the grid overhead, the lights shifting through their preshow check. The sound of the hustle and bustle of the theater faded from my ears as I tried to absorb as much as possible in these few valuable seconds. Me – on a Broadway stage. The lights illuminating my Georgia-girl-tries-to-look-hip-for-the-big-city outfit. I tried to fight back the well of emotions that threatened to disrupt my composure and absently twirled the end of my ponytail.

"Charlie, let's GO!" my friend called out to me, having made it further than one step onto the expanse of stage ahead of me. I caught up, pulling myself together.

"Are you sure this is okay?" I asked, feeling very out of place compared to the sea of agile, muscular dancers contorting their bodies into pre-show warmups and running through segments of the choreography. "Aren't we in the way or being disruptive or some- oh my god, I am so sorry!" I hastily backed away from the dancer whose bag I had tripped over in my slightly manic state.

"We are FINE, I promise. I just have to find Jessica and we'll say hi before the show starts." Mina grabbed onto my hand, unsatisfied with my dazed pace. She looked every bit the hip New Yorker, striding across the Broadway stage like she belonged there in a baby blue suede mini skirt and a black crop top that revealed more than it hid. I followed anxiously, trying to imprint as much as possible into my memory so I could go back later and savor every moment.

While I was not a performer – my intense aversion to all three aspects of the "triple threat" kept me from any sort of dream of being onstage – it was still intoxicating to catch a glimpse of the rows of red, plush seats that faded into ambiguous darkness when the stage lights no longer penetrated the cavernous theater. I scanned the stage for fast-walking, fast-talking crew members in black or on headset, sure indicators of the career I was intent on pursing after I graduated.

"JESSICA!" I heard squealed at a pitch that would rival any note hit in this show. I came to a halt as Mina threw her arms around a gorgeous girl with a Mohawk that added a solid six inches to her height, already in the tan corset and breeches that have become iconic since the show opened.

I stood back patiently as they caught up exuberantly, gushing about Mina's summer internship in the city and Jessica's recent success getting cast in the ensemble of the smash hit _Hamilton_ which, if you haven't guessed already, is where we were hastily visiting before the cast's half hour call.

"This is my friend from work, Charlie!" Mina said, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the conversation. "She just got a position with us and a BABE and this is like her second time in New York EVER."

Jessica shook my hand excitedly. "How have you never been here more than that?" she asked, laughing.

I couldn't help but smile too. "I'm from a bit further away than most people in the program!" I said, laughing. "It's a bit of a trek to make it all the way up to the Big Apple. I'm from Georgia," I explained.

"Oh my god, no joke," Jessica replied. "I could literally pick out your accent from a crowd of a thousand. You sound so freaking adorable!"

I laughed, flushing a little, still not used to that reaction since moving to New York. "I mean, I can't really do much about it I-," I replied over her giggles.

"I have GOT to introduce you to everyone," Jessica said, grabbing both of our arms. She took us around the stage, introducing us to the intimidating herd of dancers, some in their costumes already, and others warming up in anachronistic dance clothes. I tried not to act too star-struck as I absorbed the names of the cast that bantered and joked with each other like siblings.

"Most of the principles are getting ready in their dressing rooms," Jessica explained when she caught

Mina looking around the stage after introductions.

Mina blushed, called out for her shameless celebrity seeking. "I'm sorry! I just cannot believe we are here. This is absolutely wild."

Jessica laughed. "You're telling me. I couldn't talk to any of the leads for the first month of shows for fear I would fall flat on my face and die of embarrassment. But I'll introduce you if anyone is around! They are absolutely so kind and so completely normal." She caught a glimpse of someone behind us.

"Well, maybe not everyone is THAT normal."

I turned around to see who she was looking at, and my world fell apart around me.

I think it was the eyes that did it. It took me a second to register who I was looking at, and by the time I did, we made eye contact that sent chills down my back. He was talking to a friend that I immediately recognized as Daveed, both laughing and strolling onstage from the back of the set together. I bit back a smile at his outfit – the bottom half breeches and stockings that were immediately identifiable as the first act look for his character, but the top an old, worn-out t-shirt proclaiming "Wesleyan Cardinals" across the front, with a set of large, fancy looking headphones slung casually around his neck. His hair was down, not yet tamed into submission by the hair and makeup team, and he pushed it out of the way right before his eyes came up to meet mine. Large, wide open, framed with laugh lines and worry lines embedded in his tan skin, his eyes connected with mine with a luminance that the pictures I had seen before couldn't begin to capture. He looked confused at first, clearly distracted from whatever Daveed was trying to tell him, his shifted focus obvious. I blushed, feeling that gaze like a spotlight, and tried to refocus back on Mina and Jessica, who were having a hushed debate over whether Jessica should walk over and introduce them.

He strode over, briefly distracted by a few castmates pausing their warmup routines to greet him. I didn't blame them – as he moved across the stage, his presence was almost magnetic. Even if they didn't actively engage with him, everyone was briefly aware "okay, he just came in, Lin is here". Even more striking was the fact that he didn't actively seek their attention or approval – he was simply dynamic, authentic, and engaging. His laugh was contagious, his energy was uplifting. It took me a second to place what exactly it was that stood out, and I smiled when it hit me – it was his gratitude. He was as thankful to be walking across that stage as the youngest, most rookie ensemble member. He recognized his success as a gift, and not a right. His gratitude and happiness filled the room like light – like oxygen. I blushed deeper, trying to shake these thoughts from my head and stay present.

He slung an arm over Jessica's shoulder. "Jess, my main girl, are you ready for tonight?" he said, grinning at her, but glancing up at me again, his look sending a shock through my body.

She laughed, flustered by his casual attention. "I was BORN ready, Lin," she retorted. Noticing his quizzical look, she hastened to introduce us. "This is my good friend Mina – we were dancers together in our first job in the city. And this is her friend-" she blushed, having forgotten my name briefly.

"Charlie," I said, finally looking right back at him.

"Charlie," he said, meeting my gaze full-on. No hesitation or distraction, no impatience or mirth. Just an inhale as I felt my face grow warm and I felt the room swirl around me. I broke off the look as I felt Mina squeeze my hand.

"We really should go-" she began, as the stage manager's half our call resonated over the intercom system. I twisted my ponytail in my fingers, suddenly embarrassed by my lack of eloquence – or words at all, for that manner. She and Jessica broke into a chatter again as they hugged, Mina shaking Lin's hand one last time.

"Go?" he asked, interrupting their conversation, his eyes moving towards me and then back to Mina. "Aren't you staying and watching the show?"

"Yeah, right," Mina laughed. "We're going to hang out for a while until Jess is done." She hastened to clarify at his confused look. "I mean- we totally would, obviously. But it's sold out like months in advance and there's no way we could get in, but break legs of course and I'm sure it'll be-"

"Come and see it!" he interrupted, rocking back on his heels with enthusiasm. "I'll talk to the box office manager – we can make it happen, I bet. Or if not, you can watch from the booth. Or the catwalk. Or something. We can make it work. If you want to, I mean, only if you want-"

I was pretty sure I felt Mina's brain explode from where I was standing. Realizing that she wasn't going to be able to form coherent sentences in the next few minutes, I took over. "We don't want to be any trouble-" Mina's elbow jabbed me in the ribs.

"It's no trouble! I can make it happen," he interrupted, flashing a smile at me.

"Thank you, Mr. Miranda," I said, unable to stop from smiling back.

"Lin," he said, offering his hand out.

"Lin," I said, shaking his hand firmly. Both of our smiles faded slightly and I felt the hairs stand up on the back of my neck as I saw a wave of thoughts flicker across his face. I suddenly wondered what was crossing mine. Mina cleared her throat slightly as I pulled my hand back. "Break a leg," I managed to get out, taking a step back and running my fingers through my hair, not breaking eye contact.

"Enjoy the show," he shot back, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels, before flashing a smile and Mina and Jessica, then heading back among the crowd.


	2. Chapter 2

I fanned myself with my Playbill, decorated with a few scrawled signatures outside of the stage door, half-listening to Mina's star struck monologue beside me. I muttered an apology as some still-crying girl tried to shove past me to get a better view, scanning the crowd for Jessica as we waited for her to emerge. The intimidating security guards finally started encouraging the emotional crowd onwards, trying to clear some space for the last straggling performers to make it out the door. Finally, we waved frantically as Jessica emerged from the golden stage door, scanning the crowd for us. She came out, smiling sweetly at the compliments from the crowd, pushing her way towards us. She whispered something quickly in Mina's ear than began pulling us through the crowd.

"What did she say?" I tried to ask Mina, trying to keep up and avoid being trampled by the zealous crowd.

Mina yelled something back at me but it was lost in the dull roar of the crowd.

"What?" I yelled back, almost stumbling as we got to the steps up to the stage door. My jaw dropped as Jessica led us inside, closing the door again to the disappointed crowd.

We ended up in a cramped hallway – a far cry from the glamorous backstage experience I had really always envisioned from a Broadway show. Cast members scurried back and forth down the hallway, ferrying lucky friends and family members to the stage for a quick tour. As the door to outside opened and shut, a dull roar from the (very energetic) crowd would swell then quiet.

Jessica started chattering immediately. "I've texted a bunch of the old cast, and we can make it downtown to see Lydia's cabaret performance if we hurry and catch a cab, like ASAP— "

"Lydia was in the first show we ever did together," Mina explained to me, seeing my blank face. I must have looked crestfallen – we were feet away from a real, actual Broadway backstage and I wouldn't even get to see it? "It'll be SUPER fun," Mina assured me, as Jessica dashed back to the dressing room to grab her belongings. With everything that had happened so far today, how could I have any complaints? I nodded and put a smile on, mentally preparing myself for a night of overpriced drinks and bad dancing.

Mina smiled back at me. Suddenly, her cheeks flushed and her gaze shifted to something behind me, her eyes slightly wide. I turned around to see what she was staring at, then found myself face to face suddenly with Lin.

I think my face might have permanent damage from how fast I turned bright red.

He smiled down at me. I tried to remember how to smile back and create normal, human facial features.

"Well?" he said, looking at me expectantly. I realized in terror he must have tried to ask me something already. Was my brain even functioning? I wanted to shake myself and swear to him I was both cognizant and coherent on a normal day. "What did you think?" he repeated, the smile never leaving his eyes.

"It was pretty good!" I said, trying to keep it cool, the memory of me hysterically sobbing in the audience about twenty minutes ago not far from my mind.

"Pretty good," he said wryly. "I thought it was too." He rocked back on his heels, his hands shoved in his hoodie pockets. "Did you get to explore at all yet?"

Mina smiled broadly, thankfully taking over – I had apparently reached my maximum word count in this conversation. "We are actually in a bit of a rush – we have another event to catch tonight so we're going to have to head downtown as soon as Jessica gets here."

I caught a glimpse of Lin's face falling ever so slightly – as if on cue, Jessica reemerged from the dressing rooms, accompanied by a small herd of leggy, gorgeous dancers. She slung her arms around Mina, then realized who was standing in our little circle. "Oh! Wow! Hi!" she said. It was comforting to see that not even cast members were totally immune to his penchant for flustering everyone in a ten-foot radius. She glanced at the time on her phone. "Oh my god, it's getting so late. We have to get a cab right now." A few of the girls with her had already made it to the door. "Jessica, you coming?" they called back, the din of the crowd almost drowning them out as they made their way outside.

Jessica and Mina looked at me expectantly, clearly feeling my hesitation to leave this crowded, sweaty hallway. "Do we have time for a quick tour?" I asked, knowing the answer already by their antsy body language. I tried to send some pleading telepathic messages to Mina, but she looked at her watch then at the door, clearly ready to go. Even though I had known Mina for only about half a year, I knew that her timeliness was one of her most signature traits. I smiled apologetically at Lin, and shifted my bag further on my shoulder. "Y'all are right, we should get going—"

Lin stepped forward. "What if I take Charlie and show her around some… and we catch up with you all in a bit?" On my name, he reached over and set his hand momentarily on my arm. I jumped a little bit, then tried to play off my startle as running my hand through my hair again, chiding myself on the inside for being actually being incapable of remaining cool for more than five minutes. I made brief eye contact with Lin, surprised when I saw the embarrassment cloud his sheepish smile.

Mina grabbed my arm as another group of dancers made their way down the hall, laughing and chattering with Jessica as they passed about their plan for the evening. "Are you sure about this? I know our plan wasn't to split up, and-" she glanced over my shoulder at Lin, who was hugging his friends goodbye, flashing his signature smile at everyone. "And are you sure you know what you're… doing?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "It's just looking around, Mina. You KNOW how much I love theater and this is a Broadway stage. This is a once in a LIFETIME opportunity." She bit her lip, still hesitant, looking back at Lin again. I laughed and nudged her. "Go on! Go to bars. I hate bars anyways so this is just me procrastinating to going out and having to DANCE." I fake shuddered, eliciting a laugh from her. "And besides, dancing with Broadway dancers? That whole situation sets me up to look like an idiot." She laughed again, clearly relaxing more.

"Alright, alright. But you'll text me like once every ten minutes? Once every five minutes, maybe?"

I hugged her – my gorgeous, sweet, protective best friend. "Drop me a pin with where you go, okay? I'll catch up with you. I'll take a cab over – it'll be totally fine."

The herd of girls cleared out, Mina blending in with the rest of the gorgeous, leggy dancers easily. Suddenly left without the buffer of the surrounding crowd, Lin and I fell into a slightly-embarrassed awkward silence.

"So do you want to-"

"What if we-"

We laughed, both blushing, having burst out at the exact same time.

"Do you want to go on the set and see everything?" he asked, fiddling with his headphones cord.

I smiled up at him, meeting his gaze head-on. "I'd love to."

He grinned, opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, then turned on his heel and began striding off down the hallway.

I followed, my mind a million miles away. Why was he still here with me in the theater? Why wasn't he out with all his friends, or relaxing before his day off, or rehearsing, or whatever it was Broadway actors did with their spare time? I counselled myself to keep my resolve steely – the glitter in his eyes and that winning smile – those weren't things that only I experience. I knew from his rabid fan base that his charm was widely distributed and that he had scores of swooning female (and male) followers who saw that same grin and melted inside. I wasn't star struck enough to get lost in that gaze, no matter how shaky it made the ground under my feet seem. It's most likely an ego thing for him, I decided. Find a cute girl that'll give him her full attention for an afternoon, then go back to wooing the rest of the world when the sun comes up.

My thoughts melted away when we stepped onto the quiet stage.

There are few things in this world like a stage after hours. The ghost light, set center stage, was a slightly-tilted lamp with no lampshade, casting a soft glow around it, which faded out into darkness quickly. The rows and rows of plush seats turned into a dark, cavernous emptiness without the light from the stage to illuminate them, and the set seemed like a yawning, castle-like structure looming upstage. The ceiling was completely dark, suggesting that it carried on forever into the night sky. The only thing that was truly visible was the floor – while under bright stage lights it was pristine and shining, the scuffs and smudges from dancers' feet were highlighted in the dim light. I inhaled slowly, absorbing the moment – did the darkness make the majestic Broadway stage seem larger and more cavernous, or did the lack of light shrink it down and strip down the glamour, making it reminiscent of my old high school theater space?

I rocked back on my heels slightly, flustered to realize that I had completely come to a stop and had just been staring silently. I glanced over to Lin, who, to my embarrassment, was looking at me through all this.

"Sorry, I, ah-" I shook my head. "It's my favorite thing. When a show is done for the day and the theater goes dark, it's- it's definitely-"

"It's beautiful," he said, keeping his eyes on me. Then he flashed a smile at me again, then grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the stairs of the set. "Come on," he said.


End file.
